Pakistan Army to be withdrawn from Swat Valley soon

The tenure of the newly-formed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government will soon witness the withdrawal of security forces from Swat.

Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shaukat Ali Yousafzai announced that the decision to withdraw the Pakistan Army from Swat has been taken, reports The Express Tribune.

The PTI stalwart, who is reportedly all set to assume the responsibility of K-P information minister in a few days, said that forces will be gradually withdrawn from the valley.

Yousafzai said the gradual withdrawal of security forces from Swat will be accompanied by a simultaneous strengthening and disciplining of the civil administration. He said that if security forces were removed abruptly, it would create several issues for the civil administration to deal with.

Pakistan army troops had been ordered into the valley in 2009 by the then democratic government after militants had attempted to take over.

Yousafzai also revealed that PTI-led provincial government will convene a 'consultative jirga', in which leaders from all political parties would take part.

The government has long been struggling to eliminate militancy from the once peaceful valley. Last year in October, Taliban militants shot teenage education activist Malala Yousufzai, and her two friends in Swat.